Black Oak Falls
by EmilyA198527
Summary: Annalise Wood, a school teacher, travels to the untamed city of Black Oak Falls to take on the role of the teacher for the young children of the town and to live with some of her relatives. However, she wasn't counting on drawing the attention of the leader of a notorious gang who ran the town who was known simply as The Undertaker.
1. Chapter 1

Note: I do not have anything to do with the character of the Undertaker in this story, but this is a story that I am working on. I am only using him as a muse for my writing.

Chapter One

Nestled in a private booth on a long, black train coming from the eastern part of the united states, Annalise Wood, the daughter of a pastor and a housewife, was traveling across the country to stay with her mother's sister, Martha Coyle, and her daughter, Jasmine, while she is working as a school teacher for the little children of Black Oak Falls, Arizona.

She had been offered the position by the mayor of the town when he had traveled to her hometown of Pulaski, Tennessee with the intent being to visit with her father and find someone who could help tutor the children of the town. It was during the visit that he had noticed her with several little girls in her family's front room, teaching them how to read simple words with the use of a small chalk board, and asked her father if he could offer the position to her.

It did take some time in persuading her father to allow him to offer the position to her, but it didn't take too much time for her to agree to it since she was looking forward to taking the task on, and it would allow her to be able to visit with her cousin that she hadn't been able to spend time with since her family moved away from Pulaski.

However, it would mean that she would have to leave her parents, friends, and community behind for an unknown future in a town in the untamed part of the country where it was dangerous to be there on your own. She was aware that being a single woman traveling across the united states would be a perilous and scary experience. But, there was no way that she was going to turn away from the opportunity presented to her.

Her gentle eyes moved away from the window pane of the private booth she was nestled in down to where an envelope that the conductor had given to her was nestled in the lap of her royal blue gown. Annalise took time in making sure to not rip the envelop to where it would damage the letter inside of it. She eased the folded piece of paper out into the opening and started to read the words of her cousin to herself, silently.

 _Annalise, I can't wait to see you when you come out here. Mom has you a room already prepared for you. I hope that you like it. When you arrive to the train station, you will be able to see the hotel and walk right over towards it. We can't leave the hotel to meet you since both of us have to be at the hotel due to we not having enough people to work for us. I can't wait to see you, and I know that you will love it here. Sincerely, Jasmine._

Finding out that her cousin and aunt wouldn't be able to meet her at the train station's platform did upset her a bit. She had hoped to meet them there for a warm embrace before walking over with them to her new home. Nevertheless, she knew that her aunt and cousin had priorities and duties to attend to regardless of her being there, and it would do her a bit of good for her to be upset with them just because they couldn't do something that she would have wanted them to do.

The sound of the train letting out a long whistle caught her attention, and alerted her that the train was going to be pulling into the station soon and everyone needed to get their things together. Moved by the sound, Annalise put the letter away in the envelop, and started to prepare herself to exit the train and venture out into the place that was to be her new home: Black Oak Falls.


	2. Chapter 2

Note: I do not own or having anything to do with the Undertaker. Everything else is mine.

Chapter Two

 _Looks like everything is quiet in town this morning._

Nestled against a wall inside of a building on the top floor, Mark 'The Undertaker' Callaway, the leader of the infamous Black Oak Falls gang, looked out the window of his room to the town's platform that led to the train station. His piercing stare took in all that the town's locals were doing from the privacy of a townhouse that he had bought with the assistance of his men 'acquiring' it from the former owner's family before they could think to sell it to someone else.

He was not phased by the method he had chosen to use when it came to getting what he wanted. If it meant that he had to use intimidation or brute force to get everything he could dream of possessing, he would do just that.

The sound of a train letting out a long whistle brought a smile to his usually cold and emotionless face. He knew that it had brought new people and locals to the city, and there was a chance that one of the people would have something precious that he could possess for himself.

 _Let's see if there is anyone among the crowd that has something desirable for me._

Mark kept his gaze fixated on the platform as the people started to leave the train station and make their trip into town. At first, it seemed to him that there would be nothing of interest due to many of the travelers having been locals or people who didn't really seem worthy of his time and energy.

 _Looks like it is going to be an uneventful day for me after all. I wonder-_

His train of thought came to an abrupt ending when the sight of a beautiful woman dressed in a blue dress with her curly hair fixed up and off her shoulders came into his line of vision. She was carrying a single bag in her hands, and glancing around the area she was in at the moment.

 _Who is this?_

Mark couldn't shake off the feelings stirring within him at seeing the angel outside of his home. She had shook his dark soul in ways that the local harlots that frequented the saloon could never dream to achieve. Whoever this woman was, he planned to get to know her and have her all to himself before any other man in the city could do just that.

Stepping away from the window, his tall frame wasted little time in moving across the hardwood floor of his bedroom and out the door. Mark dashed down a set of stairs in the two story house, and snatched his leather duster and wide rim hat from their hooks close to the front door. He slipped his hat atop his dark, thick hair that hung loose and past the tops of his shoulders before he made the move to put his long coat on over top of his normal outfit for the day consisting of a black buttoned up top and black trousers.

Opening the front door of his house, the sounds of his boots thudding some against the wood covered porch echoed in his ears. He pulled the door shut behind him prior to looking over to where he had noticed the beauty before only to find her starting to make her way into town. Focusing in on the curvaceous angel that was a little ways from him, Mark left his proch and begun to follow her with the intent to find out who she was and start working on his plan to have her all to himself.


	3. Chapter 3

Note: The only character in this story that I do not own is The Undertaker.

Chapter Three

Moving herself among the people that had come off the train and the locals that called Black Oak Falls their home, Annalise couldn't help but be in awe of her new surroundings as she moved herself at a steady pace. Her hands kept a firm yet gentle grip on her suitcase's handle while she had her attention focused on sights and sounds around herself that were new to her ears.

 _This is amazing. I never thought I would be in a western town to make a fresh start, especially one as as active and thriving as this place._

There was an assumption she had beforehand in regards to what she had come to mind when she was told that her position was to be in a western town that was only a few years old from the day it had been established. A vision of a city with little to offer and not many people calling it their home came to her mind.

However, the discovery of the type of place that was to be her home being a populated and highly active atmosphere shook those images from her.

Annalise moved herself at a decent pace that would allow her to soak in several of the buildings that was near her, and keep her from being pushed around by the locals of the city that might be in a rush to get around her. She moved herself a little more before the sight of a building on the other side of the street caught her attention.

Standing several stories tall and having enough space for a good portion of the residents, a well-built hotel stood facing where she was nestled on the other side of the street. It had the appearance of a high class establishment, and gave off the feeling that the owner took very good care of it.

Annalise wasn't sure at first if the building before her was in fact the place she was to stay since it seemed out of her league. She didn't come from a family that was wealthy, and her aunt Martha was the same when she had left with Jasmine. It didn't seem to her that it was to be her home.

It took seeing her cousin, now a young woman such as herself, stepping out onto the porch of it in a light pink gown and waving her to come over with a big smile on her face for her to realize that the place before her was to be the place she was to call home and this was where her aunt and cousin worked.

Feeling a little more at ease, she flashed a friendly smile towards her childhood friend and relative, and started to make her way across the dusty road that was the main street. Her hands maintained its grip on the bag she had brough with her on her trip there to keep from dropping it during her trek over to the building.

 _I can't wait to hug and talk with Jasmine once more. It has been so long since we-_

"Look out!"

The sound of a man screaming out to her caused her to stop moving any further, and direct all of her attention to the source of the sound. She found herself gazing upon a coach heading right in her direction with a team of black stallions pulling it.

"Annalise, move!"

She tried to move herself out of the line of danger but her body was completely frozen out of fear. The iron grip it had on her prevented her to move at all, making her an easy target for the raging animals. Deep down inside, she had the feeling that her life was going to end at that exact moment.

It was when it seemed all was lost that she felt a strong arm circle her around her waist, and rush her out of the line of danger before the stallions could run over her. A gasp of air left her lips from the shock of the moment that she was rushed towards the foot of the hotel's steps. It was until a few moments after the threat had passed that she was able to see that her bag had left her hands and now was at the bottom of the steps leading up to the porch of the hotel, and noticed a strong arm clad in a leather sleeve to be wrapped around her waist still, alerting that her rescuer was still holding onto her.

 _That was a close one. I need to thank the person who was responsible in saving me just now._

Moved by a need to show her gratitude to the person who rescued her, Annalise lifted her gaze up to the face of the person once she had turned around to look at them. She found herself doing a double take when her eyes made contact with a piercing gaze that took her complete focus from her. Her voice seemed to shut down all at once from the instance her eyes made contact with him. Holding her line of eye contact, Annalise shuddered inside from the deep voice coming from the captivating man that stood before her with one of his arms still wrapped around her waist.


	4. Chapter 4

Note: The only character I do not own in this fanfiction is The Undertaker.

Chapter Four

"You better be careful around here, little lady." Mark said. "This place can be dangerous, especially to someone as lovely as you are with no one to guide you across the street."

Mark's voice contained a hint of sensuality within his accent that lied underneath the surface of it, making it hard for someone to be able to notice it at first. He kept his gaze upon her gentle eyes while he spoke to her, soaking them inside of his mind to where when he thought back of her that he would always remember her for the angelic face and kind eyes she possessed.

However, there was something else about her that he would also be remembering: Her curvy frame nestled within his arms and pressed against his physique. She fit perfectly within the crook of his arm around her waist, and the sensation of her frame touching his with her breasts firmly against his shirt was causing him havoc in regards to his hormones that were raging.

He wanted nothing more than to take her back to his home for the day and night, and spend the hours away with her alone in his bed. She had lit a fire in him that he could not ignore no matter how hard he tried to ignore it, and it was taking every bit of his strength to keep from acting on his desires.

Drawing in a breath, Mark slowly slipped his arm away from her body with his fingers lightly gliding across the material of her gown on their way off of her body. He shivered inside with a bit of aroused excitement from feeling her tremble at what he had done to her. His eyes remained focused in on hers as he spoke up once more to break the silence between the two of them.

"My name is Mark Callaway. What's your name, miss?"

Once his arm had come back to rest at his side, he was already craving to put it back around the waist it had been holding onto. A sensation of emptiness swept over him now that he wasn't holding her. He struggled to keep himself in check while his ears picked up on the sound of her sweet, southern accent traveling out within her voice in her response to him.

"Nice to meet you, Mark. M-My name is Annalise Wood."

"Miss Annalise, what brings you here to Black Oak Falls?"

"I am going to be the new school teacher for the young children of the town."

"That is very admirable of you to travel here and take on that role."

"Thank you, Mr. Callaway."

"Do you have a place set up here in town for you to stay in?"

"I am going to be staying here at the hotel. My aunt owns and operates it, and she has a place for me in it for me to reside."

 _Excellent. She lives just a short distance from myself. I believe I might be paying this place another visit really soon._

Discovering that she was going to be living at the hotel was the best news he could get since it would mean that he could easily walk there and meet with her anytime that he wanted.

Allowing a smile to dance across his face, Mark bent down and retrieved her bag she had dropped on the ground when he had rushed her out of the line of danger of being run over. He straightened back up, and offered it to her as he issued a response back to her.

"Well, Miss Annalise, I will give you this and let you head on inside to see about settling into your new home. Hopefully...I will see you again very soon, and we can talk some more."


	5. Chapter 5

Note: The only character in this fanfiction that I do not own is The Undertaker.

Chapter Five

Annalise couldn't explain it, but there seemed to be something about Mark that drew in towards him. His presence around her had her feeling like a moth attracted to a flame. It had her wanting to be close to him although she wasn't sure about him since she knew nothing about him.

Managing to work through the overwhelming sensations, she accepted her back from him and displayed a warm smile towards him. Annalise gave a nod of her head, and headed up the steps that were in front of the hotel. Her eyes focused in on the smiling face of her cousin who she hadn't seen since they were little. The visual had her racing to meet her and wrapping her arms around her in a warm embrace.

"Jasmine!"

Annalise exclaimed with excitement as she clung to her childhood companion. She wanted to feel her in her arms for a little while out of a need to have her there. Once the hug had went on for a while, she eased herself back from it, and focused on her happy expression her face was showing as words started to come flooding out of her mouth.

"It is so good to finally see you."

"It is great to see you as well, Annalise." Jasmine replied, maintaining her smile on her face. "Let me take you upstairs and show you to your room."

Although she found her friend to be smiling at her and displaying a sense of warmth, Annalise could tell that there was something troubling her that she couldn't speak of out in the open. She chose to not question her about it and gave a nod of her head towards her instead.

"Very well, Jasmine. I am a little tired and I would like to put my things away."

She watched her cousin move to the front door of the hotel as the sensation of something washing over her and whispering at her to turn around started to dig its claws into her shoulders. Annalise didn't wish to hold up her cousin, but there was something pulling at her to turn around, and she couldn't ignore it. Taking a moment to gather thoughts, she turned herself enough to look back over her shoulder to where she had been with Mark.

To her surprise, there was not a single trace of Mark anywhere in the vicinity. He was no longer in her line of vision. It was as if he had never been there with her.

Confusion started to settle in her mind from the knowledge that Mark was no longer in the spot she had left him in. She wasn't gone from his side for just a few moments. Where could he have went?

Annalise tried to not think so much on his disappearance as she made her way inside the building behind her cousin. Once she was no longer outside, she begun following her cousin up a set of stairs. Her eyes glanced around the area a bit before she focused on Jasmine a little ahead of herself.

 _I can't stand it. I need to know what is going on with her, and why she is on edge with me._

Nearing the top of the stairs, she chose to act on her feelings towards her cousin, and speak up, ending their silence between one another, just as Jasmine had reached the hallway at the top of the stairs.

"Jasmine, why are you being so quiet?"

"I am not being quiet, Annalise."

"Jasmine, you said more than a handful of words to me since Mark was outside the hotel with me."

The instance she uttered the name of the man who had saved her from being trampled by a horse drawn carriage was met by her cousin looking at her out of concern as she spoke in a fearful tone.

"Annalise, Mark Callaway is the most dangerous man in this whole city and it seems like he has his eyes set on you."

"What are you talking about?" Annalise felt a little confused as she spoke on the stairs with her cousin. "Mark is not a threat-"

"He is the leader of a gang that runs this whole town, Annalise, and he bullies people to get what he wants without thinking of the cost it will come at."

"I don't really see him being a threat."

"Mark my words, Annalise. He has set his sights in on you, and he will not rest until he has you in his bed. Mark is not the type of man that will take 'no' for an answer when it comes to getting something he desires."

She couldn't stop the overwhelming feeling of dread washing over her. As she took in all that she had said to her, it started to have her question if the man who had saved her and captivated her attention would truly see about doing whatever it took to have her all to himself. What would become of her during her stay there? Would his interest in her cause trouble for her aunt and cousin?

As her mind pondered on troubling thoughts eating away at her, she watched her cousin turn away and head around a corner. She tried to not be too stressed out in the open to keep it hidden from her cousin as her frame moved to the top of the stairs and headed in the same direction her cousin went in.


	6. Chapter 6

Note: The only character I do not own in this fanfiction is The Undertaker.

Chapter Six

Having slipped away from the steps of the hotel, Mark made hsi way over to where the Black Oak Falls saloon stood. His tall frame made its way among the locals that were outside of the building fairly easy due to many of them being intimdate by his size and his reputation that he had built during his time in the area.

A few women who worked in the saloon to attract men to come into the establishment noticed Mark walking up, and didn't hesitate to flash him coy smiles in an attempt to get him to take at least one of them or both of them to bed. They had been with him several times and always enjoyed his dark side in the bedroom. However, it seemed like it was not going to be their day when they heard him issue a three word response that left them shocked.

"Not today, ladies."

Mark kept his response short and sweet to the harlots that had hoped he would take them to bed. There was only one woman that he wanted to take to bed, and he planned on having that and much more with the lovely Annalise.

Walking inside of the bar and past the women who were disappointed with him choosing to not take them upstairs, he took in the sight of the saloon getting fixed up with all kinds of decorations for an event that the establishment was going to be hosting later on in the evening.

Tonight was to be the annual harvest dance that the town held for everyone to come out for a good time at the bar. It gave the locals the chance to get together for music, food, drinking, and dancing, as well as the young adults to mingle with one another to see if they might find someone to court.

As he thought of the dance that was to be held there, he couldn't help but think of Annalise while his eyes moved out onto the open floor. Mark begun to picture her out on the floor, twirling about, in the same blue dress she had on when they first met with the sweet smile on her angelic face that caused his cold heart to start beating with life within it once more. The sensations she had caused were still quite active within him despite her disappearing inside of the building with her cousin leading the way for her to follow her.

 _Jasmine probably has already told her to watch out for me. She didn't like how I was with her cousin outside of the hotel, and, if I know her, she is going to do all she can to try and stop me from getting around her again._

He wasn't on the best of terms with Martha's daughter. Since he had turned her away when she had tried to get in bed with him,s he had made it her life's ambition to make him out to be the devil and that he was not someone to trust. All her efforts had done only increased his reputation and make his name known that much more in the area.

 _She can try to keep me away from Annalise all she wants, but I will get Annalise eventually. She can't keep me away from her forever._

The faint sound of movement nearby snapped him out of his thoughts. Mark glanced over to a bar counter to find Richard, the owner and only friend he had, cleaning the surface of the counter off. He made his way towards him as his voice came out of his mouth in a friendly tone that not many in the area got to hear.

"Are you setting up for tonight?"

His question that he posed towards him was met by his friend letting out a faint chuckle while he continued to work.

"I believe you already know the answer to that question, Mark." Richard replied. "Tonight is going to be a big night with the annual dance that we are going to be holding here. I trust that you will be coming with the gang tonight like you always have."

"I will be coming with the boys, but I am hoping to spend some time with a lovely new arrival to the town that I met on the way over here."

"Who might that be?"

"The new school teacher and Martha Coyle's niece, Miss Annalise Wood."

His response was met by Richard stopping what he was doing and looking up to see a smirk across the face of one of his patrons and friends. His eyes caught him smirking back towards him in response as words started to flow from his mouth in a coy tone.

"You do realize that Jasmine will be doing her hardest to keep that from happening, right?"

"I am already planning her to do some stunt to try and scare her away from me."

"And you are still going to try to get close to someone that is probably being warned about you already?"

"You only live once, my friend."

"Well...I would suggest to you to get to work on making yourself more presentable for the woman you have your eye on, and get ready for one hell of a night."

"I intend to do that."

Mark flashed one more smirk at his friend prior to heading towards the saloon's doors. He gave a nod of his head towards the same ladies he had turned down as he moved by them with a purpose and a plan in his mind: To come to the dance, and sweep Annalise away from her cousin and into his arms.


	7. Chapter 7

Note: The only character I do not own in this story is The Undertaker.

Chapter Seven

Close to sunset, Annalise had changed out of the blue gown that she was wearing when she arrived to Black Oak Falls to a light pink and white trimmed bustle gown with a matching pair of slippers on her feet. She was told of an annual dance that everyone in the town was going to be attending by her cousin, and it was suggested to her by her cousin that they should go to it for her to see what night life in the town was like.

It did intrigue her to find out for herself what the town was like when teh sun went down. Back in her hometown, Pulaski was very quiet when it went dark. No one would venture outside of their homes when the area would be blanketed in pitch black. The only place anyone dared to go to when the sun was down would be at the local church where many of the city's population would be found at.

However, at the same time, there was something rather unsettling about the concept of her taking part in a public dance that wasn't a church sanctioned event that bothered her to a degree. It would mean that she would be in a place where there would be all kinds of temptation for her to deal with, and be tested with. She felt pretty strong with the ability to stay away from the alcohol that would be served at the building where the dance was to be held at. Also, she was pretty confident about staying away from any gambling taking place.

However, there was something that she wouldn't be able to face without being tempted at the same time: An unspoken desire to be in the arms of Mark Callaway, the very man that her cousin deemed to be the 'most dangerous man in Black Oak Falls'.

She hadn't been able to shake off the sensations that he had caused to stir inside of her the instance that he had saved her form being ran over by an uncontrollable carriage. The kinds of thoughts running through her head were ones that she knew she shouldn't be experiencing from how her parents had raised her to be.

In her father's eyes, it was morally wrong for an unmarried woman to have impure thoughts of a man, and it was equally wrong for a man to think the same of a woman. It was taught in her home that the types of thoughts and feelings rushing through her body were not to be welcomed but shunned.

Despite all what she had been brought up with knowing, Annalise couldn't bring herself to ignore emotions that were very predominant in her at the moment. What she felt seemed to be that of good emotions and not of negative ones. It gave her a sense of excitement to know that there was someone in the town that made her feel like Mark did, and that she would get to see him again at some point.

The only downside to all of this was that he had a bad reputation, and he was not welcomed. Associating herself with him would mean that she would become tarnished herself, ruining her chances of a good reputation before she could even build it up. She would have to make the decision eventually if she was to turn him away or if she would allow herself to spend more time with him without fear of what others around them would think.

Moving to stand in front of a full length mirror, she took in her appearance with a bit of nervousness growing in her gaze. Annalise swallowed a lump down her throat and released a breath of air to calm her nerves.

 _Just relax, Annalise. You have no reason to worry. It is just a dance. Nothing bad is going to happen._

She gave herself some encouragement shortly before her body went to move away from the mirror. Her right hand eased itself onto the door handle, and eased it open, allowing herself to leave her room and make her way down the stairs to where her cousin was waiting for the two of them to venture out for a night on the town.


	8. Chapter 8

Note: The only character in this story that I do not own is The Undertaker

Chapter Eight

As the night sky started to cover the sky, Mark stepped out onto the porch of his home, wearing one of his best suits with his black wide rim hat atop his head and his leather duster on his tall frame. His piercing gaze took a moment to scan over the area where he was at, watching for any sign of danger that might be in the area or someone who would be foolish enough to try and take a shot at him.

Although he was feared by man in the town of Black Oak Falls, there were still those in the area that had a hatred of him to the point that they had tried to come after him with guns to shoot him dead although they had never been able to get him. He either had his men with him that would deal with the possible shooter or he had taken care of the person himself. There was a sense in the town that he was invincible, and it gave off the feeling to everyone there that he was immortal.

However, it also made him feel like a walking target at all times. There was a mark on him to all of the men in the town that were good with a gun, and he constantly had to watch his movements and his surroundings.

Moving his gaze over towards the direction of where the saloon stood, Mark caught sight of something that took his attention away from the thoughts of someone possibly coming at him to shoot him at all times: Annalise Wood making her way outside the front door of her aunt's hotel with her cousin walking a little bit ahead of her.

His eyes danced over her lovely frame in the gown she had chosen to wear that night for the dance, and found a sense of excitement starting to claw at him. He thought that when he had seen her earlier in her blue dress was something that would light a fire in him that couldn't be extinguished, but the outfit she had on at that moment caused an inferno to spread throughout his entire body and have his hormones to be raging.

 _Looks like my date for the dance tonight is on her way to the bar. I don't want to have her waiting for my arrival._

Mark stepped off his porch and started making his way in the direction of where Annalise was moving in. His gaze remained on her movements as he drew in closer to her until the sound of a horse caught his attention. Moving his focus towards the sound, he saw the sight of several of his men coming around the corner at a fast pace in the direction of the saloon...and Annalise.

An overwhelming sense of fear washed over his entire body with the visual of the woman he wanted in his bed and at his side in the line of his men and their horses path. She would be run over if he didn't get her out of the way.

He didn't waste a second. His tall frame dashed towards where Annalise was with his strong arms and long legs powering his movements. As he got close enough to her, he watched her turn her gaze towards the direction of the horses just as his arms wrapped around her waist and spun them away from the road and towards the doors of the saloon. Easing her down onto the porch of it, Mark found her turning herself around in his arms to face him and a look of awe on her face once more. He took a brief moment to catch his breath as he looked down at her prior to speaking up with a hint of a chuckle in his voice to her.

"I think that you attract danger to you, Miss Annalise...and that is something that we both have in common with one another."

His eyes remained fixated on hers, as did his arms around her waist. He couldn't bring himself to break eye contact with her as he looked down at her from where he stood in her presence on his own. However, it was the soft sound of her cousin letting out a cough to catch their attention that had him to only smile more to her and ease his arms from her waist before he spoke up to her in a more coy yet charming tone.

"Would you do me the honor of being on my arm for the dance tonight?"


	9. Chapter 9

Note: The only character I do not own in this story is The Undertaker.

Chapter Nine

Annalise couldn't hide her amazement at being asked by Mark to be his date for the dance that night. She had a feeling that she would end up running into him again at the saloon for the dance there or at some point during her time there in the town. However, it never dawned on her that she would be offered by him to partake in the dance with him, as well as being on his arm for it.

The question he presented to her had her brain and her heart combating with one another over it. With her brain, it was not wanting her to be anywhere near a man with the kind of reputation that Mark possesses since there was a chance that he would tarnish her own reputation before she could have a chance in a brand new town. However, her heart was going in the complete opposite direction. The part of her being that housed all of her passionate thoughts and feelings wished for her to take his offer since he presented himself in a way to her that no other men had dared to do back home in her former hometown, as well as being able to stir things within her body that no one had been able to do before.

Ultimately, the decision would be hers to make. Should she turn him away and go to where her cousin was waiting for her with a stern look on her face? Or should she accept his offer to be on his arm and be in the presence of someone who seemed to always be around when she was in danger and could have her blood and heart racing as if she had been running for a long time?

Annalise stood in silence for a few more moments of silence with herself contemplating what she needed to do. It was when she gazed into Mark's piercing yet enchanting gaze that she found her answer. She couldn't bring herself to turn away from him. He had brought excitement to her life and the way he looked upon her had her feel like she was the only thing that truly mattered to him. It was enough for her to make her decision.

Drawing in a breath of air, she managed out to speak up in her soft voice towards him while her eyes remained fixated on that of the man that stood before her instead of on her cousin that was looking on at Mark and herself.

"I would be honored to be on your arm, sir."

She found Mark smiling a bit more towards her due to her giving the type of answer that he was hoping for her to give him. Her ears picked up on the sound of her cousin letting out a displeased sound from her mouth prior to the noises of the doors to the saloon opening and shutting. She didn't have to look to know that it was her cousin storming inside of the building after having chosen Mark over herself, and that she was highly frustrated with her currently.

Despite being aware that she would have a rough time later on that night when she returned home with her cousin to the Inn, she chose to focus instead of on the night that was ahead of her on the arm of the very man that she had been warned by her relative to stay away from. Her eyes found his arms moving away from being close to her body to only show one of his arms to her in a gentleman manner. She looked up to his face to find him showing her another one of his charming smiles before she moved herself to accept his offer, sliding one of her hands on the inside of one of his elbows. Her eyes glanced from his eyes to his arm and back to his eyes just as he begun to speak to her in the same tone that had sent chills ups and down her spine when she had first met him earlier on that day.


	10. Chapter 10

Note: The only character I do not own in this fanfiction is The Undertaker. I own everything else.

Chapter Ten

"Let's see what this small town has to offer us tonight."

Mark couldn't erase the smile from his face as he made his way towards the swinging doors of the saloon. Annalise brought him a sense of joy that he had not experienced in his entire being by being different from all the other women of the town of Black Oak Falls.

All of the other ladies he had encountered were either too loose with themselves and didn't care letting men know up front that they were interested in going to bed with them or they were very straight laced individuals who wouldn't go anywhere near him or any man for fear of that someone might actually be attracted to them.

However, Annalise was allowing herself to be on his arm although he was sure that Jasmine had ran her mouth to her about the kind of person that he was in hopes that she would scare her away from getting any closer to her than he had. It seemed that no amount of rumors that her cousin could tell her about him was going to deter her from being in his presence, and she was willing to give him a chance to see that all the stories about him were not about who he was.

Directing his attention to the swinging doors, Mark eased them open with one of his hands that was free, and walked the two of them inside of the building that had music playing, inviting couples to come to the floor and dance with one another. He waited to make sure that Annalise was completely inside of the saloon before he let the door swing shut behind the two of them. His eyes glanced around the place to see how the decorations were put up inside of the residence before something else caught his attention.

Eyes from the locals of the town widening in surprise at him not only being there for the annual dance they held at this time of the year for the last several years, but also that he had a beautiful woman on his arm to partake in the town. They gave shocked glances at his arrival that were also mingled with an expression of awe at seeing someone such as Annalise in his presence, especially the men of the town who had come without a date in hopes of finding a single lady there to dance with. The young men that were around her age were moving their eyes up and down her body, admiring her curvaceous figure and thinking of what they could do with a woman like her on a night like tonight.

It was the way that the men were eyeing his date for the evening there at the saloon that started to make him feel a little overprotective of Annalise, as well as highly jealous.. He didn't like how they were looking at her because he had made those looks before at some of the women who worked and lived at the saloon when he only had one thing in mind to do with them. When he was younger, he viewed women as just a way to satisfy his sexual desires. Mark didn't think of Annalise as just a conquest, but someone he wanted to get close to in hopes of courting. The possibility of someone there thinking that he could take the beautiful woman at his side away from him and just using her as one of the harlots that lived around the area was something that he was going to make damn sure didn't happen at all costs.

Moving his eyes towards Annalise's direction, he found her to be looking towards him and showing him an innocent and carefree look on her face. She was completely unaware as to what was going on at that moment in his mind or that men in the saloon were looking at her as a piece of meat. The only object that her eyes were focused on was Mark and him alone. Her eyes glistened in the lights of the saloon, having her smile to brighten a little more for him, chasing away all the negative images he was having in his head. The facial expression she was showing him eradicated all the dark emotions he had been having at the moment. He flashed her a loving smile prior to his voice coming out of his mouth in a tone that was friendly with a hint of sensuality to it.

"Would you give me the honor of sharing a dance with me on the floor, Miss Annalise?"


	11. Chapter 11

Note: The only character I do not own in this storyline is The Undertaker. Also, I am working on transforming this fanfiction into an actual story and it will be available on Amazon for E-Book format only when I finish it.

Chapter Eleven

"I-I would be honored, Mark."

Annalise's words came out of her mouth in a shaky whisper due to the inner emotions that were wrecking havoc within herself by just the sound of his voice and how his eyes pierced deep into her being. Mark Callaway did something to her that no other man seemed to be able to do, and she was fine with that. He awakened a part of her soul that housed all of her more intense and passionate emotions, and allowed it to let them free to roam throughout her body.

The only downside to this startling revelation was the fact that the feelings she was experiencing were ones that she had been taught since from birth to ignore and to keep restrained deep within herself until she was married to a god-fearing man that she could share those emotions with behind close doors and away from prying eyes. Her parents stressed it to her time and time again that she needed to wait until marriage to become romantically involved with a man in order to not only keep herself pure but also to keep her reputation, as well as that of her family, intact.

The whole town knew and thought of her father as a hard working man that was a strong believer in God and the bible. He preached a fiery sermon that would get everyone full of excitement for God and stressed to everyone in the congregation that they needed to live decent lives that the heavenly father would be proud of them for living, not ones where they would be led into temptation of the flesh and alcohol. Her father made it clear that his views on premarital sex and drunkenness were not agreeable with what people in Black Oak Falls agreed, and stated that anyone who decided to go down that road would surely burn in hell for all eternity for their choices.

Now...She was facing those very temptations away from the protective gaze of her father. She was no longer in the straight-laced surroundings she was used to back home, but in a lively western town where people liked to have a good time and were not so strict in their upbringing like she had been. Not only that, but she was on the arm of a man that was the personification of what her father would consider to be the devil himself.

However, Annalise couldn't bring herself to walk away from Mark. There was something about him that pulled her in even more to his frame. She knew that his piercing stare and his deep voice was enough to explain the reason why she couldn't evade him, but there was something else that really stuck out to her about him. In the time that she had been around him, it seemed as if she was meant to meet him and to be there with him. His reputation was not at all a good and decent one, but just being around him was enough for her to be at ease and not feel as if she was completely alone in the sprawling town.

Reaching the middle of the dance floor, Annalise turned towards Mark to face him. She flashed him a sweet and caring smile prior to giving a curtsy towards him and standing back up in time to see him having bowed to her. The sight caused her to let out a soft and happy giggle from her mouth, having him to only smirk in response to her reaction. She eased one of her hands onto one of his broad shoulders just as her eyes caught sight of him extending one of his hands out for her to take. Annalise slipped her hand into his open stretched palm that was before her, and turned her gaze up towards his face moments before her frame tensed slightly from the warmth of his free hand having slid onto the small of her back and drew her in a little more to him. She did her best to regain her composure while her eyes watched a sensually smile danced across his face in her direction as he had started to speak up once more to her but in a more seductive whisper so she was the only one to hear what he had to say.


	12. Chapter 12

Note: The only character I do not own in this fanfiction is The Undertaker.

Chapter Twelve

"Don't be scared, Annalise. I won't hurt you."

He spoke with pure sincereity and seriousness in those words to her. There was not a bone in his body that wanted to place a finger on her in any way that would cause her to be physically harmed or emotionally injured. He only wished to show her how special she truly was, and that despite all the stories about him not one to be trusted with him being the head of powerful gang in the area he was someone that she could trust anything with, including her life.

Mark gave her a few moments to give a little nod of her head to him and a flash of her sweet smile that drove him wild before he started to dance with her out on the floor of the saloon with other couples around them in the area. His towering frame moved them at a slow yet gentle pace that would allow time for the two of them to warm up to one another and also with their dancing before the speed increased anymore than it needed to be. With them moving at a gentle pace, it allowed him the ability to speak to her, breaking the ice.

"I hope that you don't mind dancing like this at first, Annalise. I am not really the best dancer in the town."

He found his choice of words bringing a little wider smile to her angelic face and the sound off her laughter slipping out of her mouth in the form of a gentle chuckle. The combination of the two lit a fire at the bottom of his spine, and had it to slowly start to build up. His eyes never left hers while their bodies swayed side to side with one another as he picked up on the sound of her southern accent coming out into her voice as she begun to respond back to him.

"In my opinion, I think you are the the one who is the better dancer here."

"Why do you say that?"

"Well...Back home, I wasn't allowed to go to any public dances. The only times that I would be allowed to attend any type of social event where there might be dancing would be at church functions, and most of the time it was just me dancing around in a circle with a group of the other women my age."

 _Am I hearing this right? Did this beautiful young woman before me just say that she had never danced with a man before?_

The prospect of him being the first man she had ever danced with sparked a curious interest in him from that moment. He needed to know if what he took her to be saying to him at that moment was the case or if he had misunderstood what she was meaning.

"So...Are you saying that I am the first man that you have ever danced with before?"

"Y-Yes, Mark. I have never danced with a man before tonight."

Mark felt a sense of honor and pride in knowing that he was the first one for her to share a dance with like they were with one another at that moment. The feelings slowly started to give into another more sensual emotion as the thoughts of being able to do things with her that no other man had been able to do started to spread like wildfire in his mind, causing his hormones to start burning up within his being. He quickly sensed what was going on within him, and made quick work to silent them in order to keep himself from acting on those urges before she was ready for that to happen.

There was no doubt that he would be sharing much more intimate moments with this beautiful woman who had just arrived to the city of Black Oak Falls, but there was no point in rushing into it just yet. He didn't mind working up to it. Annalise was worth the wait.

Continuing to dance with her at the speed they were moving at, he dropped his face down a little closer to hers and spoke to her in a soft whisper that would no doubt send shivers running up and down her spine.

"I am thankful that you wished to share your first dance with me tonight, Annalise. I promise you are in for a real treat tonight."


	13. Chapter 13

Note: The only character I do not own in this story is The Undertaker.

Chapter Thirteen

 _I have already been treated good so far, Mark. I don't know how it could get any better._

Annalise felt her insides heating up inside from how he had spoken to her and the way that he moved the two of them on the dance floor among the other couples that were dancing with their dates to the music being played throughout the saloon that evening. Although his actions to her were not very intense, the effect that they had left on her was enough to really struck a chord with her, causing the passionate side of her thoughts to come out to play while she worked hard at maintaining her composure.

 _You can't deny what you really want from him, Annalise._ The voices whispered at her, teasing and taunting her with the truth that she didn't wish to admit to. _You want him to take you back to his home tonight, and experience what it is like to be in the same bed with a man as powerful as the one that your cousin calls The Undertaker._

 _You need to stop this right now._ She desperately tried to get the thoughts to leave her alone. She didn't wish to have them harassing her in the manner they were while she was trying to enjoy her time with Mark that she was being permitted to have. _I am just having a nice time dancing with him to the song that is playing, and I don't plan on things going on further than a simple dance between him and I._

 _What if it goes beyond that tonight?_

 _What on earth are you talking about?_

 _You can't lie to yourself, Annalise. There is a part of you deep down inside that would love to take part in a moment of unbridled, sexual frenzy with the one man in the whole town of Black Oak Falls that everyone is afraid to be around due to his outlaw reputation._

 _I am not the type of woman to go around and sleep with a man that I do not know. I was brought up to save myself for marriage, and I wish to do that._

 _You won't hold true to that, Annalise. You will lose your virginity before you go to the altar, and Mark will be the one that you will give it to._

There was no way she could deny what the voices were stating to her in their teasing tones. She did want to experience what several women have gotten to with the men in their lives who wished to be intimate with them. The way her parents had brought her up caused her to long for the ideal life of remaining pure until she married in which time would be the ideal way for her to give herself to a man as to not tarnish herself. It was something that she grew up longing for.

However...She couldn't find herself wanting that any longer due to a need to feel what it was like to be with a man who had such passion within him for her that it consumed every part of her being. Although the thoughts she was having would cause her parents to have a fit, there was no way she could lie to herself what she truly wanted and that was to be in the most passionate experience with a man that only had eyes for her and that man was none other than Mark Callaway.

Although she had just met him earlier on that day, she was content to wait and see what the future had in store for the two of them during their time together in the western town that was to become her home. Annalise once had someone to remark that she had the patience of Job of the bible. The idea of giving time to see if there was a future for the outlaw and herself was something she was willing to do.

Keeping her eyes on his piercing gaze, she flashed him a warm smile while she continued to move with him to the music that was playing. Her eyes remained fixated on his gaze while her soft, southern belle accent came out of her mouth in a gentle response to what he had said to her.

"If tonight gets any better than it has so far, I will consider myself lucky to be in the presence of someone who is able to treat me so well."


	14. Chapter 14

Note: The only character I do not own in this story is The Undertaker

Chapter Fourteen

Mark couldn't help but smile down at the adorably beautiful woman that stood before him. The response that he had gotten from her during their dance with each other in the crowded saloon caused him to experience feelings that he had never witnessed first hand before. There were instances of him being with some of the girls that worked the bar that would say some things that would catch his attention. However, none of the things they said to him could even compare to the way that he felt from how Annalise spoke to him.

Besides the warm and fuzzy feelings he was getting from being in her presence, he was also experiencing an arousal that he had not dealt with before in his whole life. The mixture of her pure and sweet nature with the gorgeous and curvaceous body that she possessed was just the right combination for his body to start allowing his hormones to rage deep within him, whispering to him from the recesses of his mind.

 _Tonight is the night, Mark._ The voices tauntingly said. _You haven't had a woman in your bed in ages. This evening, however, you are going to be having this little cutie lying next to you under the sheets._

He tried to ignore what the voices were saying to him as he focused on Annalise during their dance. Deep down inside, he didn't want to think about doing anything to her just yet. He was enjoying the time with her, and didn't want anything bad to happen during the evening. Struggling to keep what little bit of resolve he had in check, he found his attention being distracted by the tap of a hand on one of his shoulders. Mark turned his head, and found one of the young men of the town to be standing there with a smile on his face.

"Yes?" Mark asked. "Can I help you with something?" His voice had a hint of annoyance to it from being interrupted by this young buck. He kept a firm look in his eyes while his ears picked up on a response coming out of his mouth.

"I was wanting to see about sharing a dance with Jasmine's cousin."

 _Jasmine. Figures she would do something stupid like this in order to try and get her cousin away from me. That woman has had it out for me since the day I turned down her advances and told her that I was not interested in her._

Moving his eyes over towards a direction, Mark found himself looking at the sight of Annalise's cousin having her arms crossed over her chest some as she watched on from where she stood, looking on for the sight of him to let go of Annalise and allow this man to have a dance with her. He knew that from how she was looking at him that she was already expecting him to let her go and that he would go off to be with his gang who were spread out over the place.

 _Sorry to let you down, Jasmine, but I don't plan on letting your cousin go so easily._

He looked back to the man and focused in on him while his arms that were around Annalise's body drew her in more to his own frame as he issued a response to the man to make his point clear to him.

"I am afraid that the only person she is going to be dancing with tonight is me. Why don't you go ask one of the other young ladies for a dance in the saloon?"

"Because I don't want any of the other girls here." The man replied, standing his ground. "The only one I want to dance with is her."

"Can you not take the hint? I am her date for the evening, not you."

Mark went to put his full attention on Annalise when the sensation of the man that had touched his shoulder grabbing him once more caused him to spun around. The moment that he done that, he was met with a sharp punched to his face that caused him to turn his head some. His ears picked up on the sound of Annalise letting out a sharp gasp of air from having witnessed him getting punched like he did while others had looked to them from where they were in the place. Although the punch was loud and it had some impact behind it, he turned his head to look back at the man as if the hit did nothing to him. His right hand balled up into a fist out of his line of sight as he delivered a response to the would-be suitor in a very dark and deadly serious tone.

"Nice try, boy. Now...Let me show you how a real man throws a punch."

Without missing a beat, Mark brought his fist up, and drove it into a side of the man's head with such strength and speed that he sent him flying backwards from where he had been standing and crashing through a poker game that was taking place on one of the round tables that had been set up. His eyes looked at the man holding his face in pain from what he had done to him as they were turning dark with rage at what he had done. He wanted to rush at him and finish what he had started. However, it was the soft feeling of a hand on the inside of one of his elbows that caused his eyes to move to a side of him and find Annalise looking up to him with a look that pleaded with him to leave the man alone.

She didn't wish for him to keep fighting with someone who was trying to ruin their night together. Until that moment, the two of them were enjoying each other's company and starting to talk with one another. The last thing that she wanted was for something like this to cause the two of them to end up going in different directions.

Realizing what he was risking if he continued his pursuit of the fallen man, Mark got a hold of Annalise's hand that was inside of his elbow on one of his arms with one of his hands. He slipped his fingers in between hers as he spoke to her softly.

"Let's get out of here, darling, and get some fresh air. This place is a bit too crowded for me."

He kept his voice low and soft towards her in order to make sure that she was the only one to hear that he had to say. He caught sight of her giving a brief nod of her head shortly before he made their way to the swinging doors of the dance hall, and exited the building with her at his side.


	15. Chapter 15

Note: The only character I don't own in this storyline is The Undertaker

Chapter Fifteen

Making her way outside with Mark, Annalise was in complete surprise from how things went so quickly from being a fairly quiet evening to her experiencing her first fight in a bar. She never thought that she would get to witness first hand what she heard happen quite frequently out in the western part of the nation. It always seemed to be a story for little ones to talk about. However, she could walk away saying that her eyes got to see for themselves the first fight of probably many that were still to come.

Nevertheless, she didn't expect that the fight would essentially be over herself. She always viewed herself to be just a quiet young lady from a bible based town who didn't really stick out too much to cause a lot of attention. It seemed to her quite clearly now that was the opposite with how a man actually tried to take her from Mark, her date, and Mark made it quite clear to him that he was not going to put his hands on her if he had anything to say about it.

She looked to Mark as they reached the bottom of the stairs leading to the saloon to find him turning to her and showing an expression of regret on the strong features of his face. Annalise found his gaze unwaivering from hers as she listened to his deep voice speaking to her in an apologetic tone.

"I am sorry you had to see that, Annalise." Mark said. "I didn't plan on you seeing anything like that on your first night in Black Oak Falls, and the first time that you were on my arm."

The way he spoke to her warmed her heart. He was sorry for what she had seen that night in the saloon, and he felt bad for the way that things went the way they did. She couldn't help but show him a warm and inviting smile prior to speaking up to him in a comforting way as an attempt to soothe his spirit.

"It is okay, Mark." She said. "You did what you thought had to be done."

"I didn't want that jerk in there to ruin our night of dancing by trying to take you from me, and I thought that shutting him up with my fist would be the answer to the situation."

"Our night hasn't been ruined, Mark. I still had a nice time with you at the dance tonight."

"Even though you witnessed the kind of rage and anger that I have inside of myself?"

"I know you did what you thought was best for me tonight when that guy wanted to steal me from you, and I am not upset with how things went down in there."

She watched his facial features start to become more relaxed at what she had said to him in regards to what took place inside of the bar. Her smile started to relax a little more herself. Annalise kept her eyes locked on his while she spoke up to him in a calm way.

"Would you walk me back to my aunt's Inn, Mark? I don't wish to walk there alone in the dark."

"It would be my honor to walk you home, ma'am."

The way he spoke to her caused her to let out a soft giggle that had been building up from when he had been kind towards her before the fight inside broke out. With her smile remaining on her face, she clung to his hand a little bit more and turned to where her aunt's inn was located at nearby. Her body proceeded to move across the road with him, walking at a slow yet steady pace with him.

Although she had a rough night as her first night in a new town, she secretly wanted them to be able to go on a longer walk to her home. His presence gave her a sense of security and comfort. To be near him made her feel safe in that no one would try to hurt her or mess with her with Mark around to make sure they kept at a distance. It also meant that as long as he was around, none of the men would even attempt to make a move on her knowing that someone who everyone feared in the town of Black Oak Falls was interested in her.

Getting to the bottom of the stairs leading up to the Inn, Annalise turned to look up to Mark. She flashed him a sweet yet shy smile as she proceeded to speak with him once more.

"Well...Here is my home."

"Perhaps I can take you out on a longer walk next time, and we can get to know each other a little better."

"I...I would like that, Mark. I am sure though that Jasmine will disagree to it."

"I am not looking for her to give her blessing on anything that I do with you. The only one that I really care about making happy...is you, Annalise."

His words of endearment to her caused her to bow her head a little bit with a bashful expression dancing across her face. She couldn't help but let out a soft sound of bashfulness as she proceeded to lift her head up as she spoke to him.

"Mark, you are so kind to me and-"

Before she could get the rest of her words out of her mouth, she was cut off by the feeling of his strong lips crashing down against her tender mouth. Her eyes fluttered some from what he had done to her out of the blue. Her blood pressure jumped up several points from what he was doing to her. As much shock she was in, she found herself secretely enjoying what he was doing to her. The kiss was brief but long enough to leave a lasting impression on her. She took a moment to regain her senses once his lips left hers and she looked towards him to find him smiling at her.

"Good night, Miss Annalise. I will see you soon." He said to her, sensually, as he gave her a bow and headed off in a direction.

She tried to tell him good night but her voice was not wishing to work for her due to being kissed in such a way that it took her breath away. All she could manage to do was smile shyly in his direction prior to moving up the stairs to the front door of the hotel. She looked to where he was heading to his home to find him looking at her and waving. Finding her strength, she managed to wave to him with her smile still on her face. Although they had just met, she knew that things between the two of them would get more interesting. She lowered her hand and made her way inside of the hotel, planning to get a goodnight's sleep after the excitement of her first day in Black Oak Falls.


	16. Chapter 16

Note: The only character I do not own in this story is Undertaker. Also, I plan to turn this into a story once it is completely done.

Chapter Sixteen

A few days after her encounter with the man many in the town of Black Oak falls knew as simply The Undertaker and arriving to the place that was to be her new home for the time being, Annalise opened up the doors to the town's only schoolhouse for the young children. She stood to the side and watched the little boys and girls starting to rush out the door, giving her their goodbyes on their way out. Her kind gaze watched as they all went scattering away before she turned from the doorway and made her way around the room, working on cleaning it up some.

Her curvaceous frame had a simple navy blue and white floral patterned dress over it as she moved around the room, picking up fallen pieces of paper and the students writing utensils that they had left behind in their rush to get outside and head to their homes. She has her hair hanging halfway up with a navy blue ribbon tied in a bow in the back of it. Annalise worked hard to pick up the area where the students sat in since she wanted the schoolhouse where she worked to be well-kept and looking its best.

Making her out into the middle row that ran from the front door of the room to where her desk was nestled, Annalise proceeded to move towards her desk when a familiar voice called out to her from the doorway.

"Have all the girls and boys went home for the day?"

She couldn't help but smile when she registered the voice belonging to none other than Mark Callaway, the one man in the whole town of Black Oak Falls that had captured her attention from the moment she first caught sight of him when she was heading to her aunt's hotel. Turning herself towards where she heard his voice, she found him to be in the doorway of the building, flashing her a charming smile. The sight alone caused a giggle she was struggling to keep in to come out a bit stifled. She worked quick to regain her composure as she spoke to him.

"They all left just a few moments ago, Mark." She said. "I was just picking up around the school room some before I start to get ready to go myself."

Her body remained where she was standing while her eyes watched make his way towards her direction with his arms at his side. As she watched him, she found his eyes remaining fixated on her the whole time he was moving to her.

 _Remain calm, Annalise. Just take a deep breath and count to ten._

She silently told herself affirmations for her to be as calm as she could manage to be with a man who had stolen her breath the other night when he had given her a good night kiss after he had walked her home from the dance at the saloon. Once he was standing in front of her, her eyes gazed up into his while her ears picked up on the sound of his deep voice speaking to her that had her shivering all over like he had a few nights previously.

"If you are not really wanting to rush back home, I was wondering if you would like to go with me out on a ride on my horse."

Annalise couldn't hide herself perking up at him offering to take her out on a little ride since the kids had all went home and there wasn't really anything there preventing her from going out with him. She gazed up at him while her mind found itself being barraged by both her conscience and her passionate thinking in regards to what she should do.

On one hand, her conscience was screaming at her to not even think about going out on a ride with him since she didn't even know this man well-enough to be anywhere alone with him and there was no telling what he truly had planned for the two of them. On the other hand, her passionate thinking was being supportive towards the idea of her being somewhere alone with Mark and whispered to her that nothing could possibly go wrong with it since he seemed to care about her and that he only wanted her happiness.

Choosing to go against what the rational side of her brain was wanting her to do, Annalise showed him a sweet smile as a similar tone slipped out of her mouth to deliever her answer to him.

"A ride sounds pretty good to me right about now, Mark." She said. "I have been busy in here with the school children all day and being able to go out for some fresh air does sound pretty good to me right about now."

She found her answer to him being met with him flashing her a grin and one of his hands grasping onto one of her own. A rush of air left her mouth shortly afterward as she discovered him running the two of them out of the school house, giving her little time to pull the doors of the school house shut behind her. Once her feet had hit the ground at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the school house, Annalise noticed Mark walking her up to where a chestnut brown horse was standing with a saddle on its back. She glanced towards him to find him offering to help her onto it with a motion of his hands. A smile danced across her face as she nodded her head to him and let him assist her in getting on the horse first. Her hands clung to the saddle for extra support as he gave her a little push to be situated on it.

 _This is going to be so exciting!_ Her passionate thinking whispered to her in delight. _There is no telling where he will take you to, but you will end up having a great time._

 _I think so as well._

Normally she would have rebelled against what the other part of her brain wanted of her to do in regards to her own desires. She was always a rational thinker and never one to act on their emotions. However, for the time being, she was willing to give the other side a chance and see where she ended up going on her adventure with Mark that day.

From where she was sitting, Annalise registered Mark to be climbing on behind her and reaching around for the reins of the horse. She shifted her gaze over towards a direction to find her cousin glaring at her with her arms over her chest while her friends were whispering to one another. She swallowed a lump down her throat from how she was looking at her. Her body was tensed all over from seeing the obvious disgust in Jasmine's face from finding her cousin to be in the presence of a man she had an issue with. With her eyes on her, Annalise's line of connection ended from the sensual sound of Mark's voice whispering in one of her ears.

"Don't worry about her, darling." He said. "She is just jealous that she isn't the one on this horse with me."

She looked towards him to find him flashing her a wink and a smile prior to shifting his gaze straight ahead. Annalise proceeded to speak up when her breath was taken from the sensation of him letting out a shout for the horse to get going. Shortly thereafter, she found him and her to be moving very quickly away from the front of the school house she was working out of and heading towards a direction that would take them away from town and towards the untamed parts of the area.


	17. Chapter 17

Note: The only character I do not own in this story is The Undertaker. Also, this fanfiction will be turned into a story once it is done and I will announce on here when it will be ready for purchase as an e-book

Chapter Seventeen

Heading outside of the town of Black Oak Falls, Mark had his horse moving at a steady yet fast pace while he had Annalise nestled in front of him. He was quite pleased that she decided to go with him out on a ride on such a nice day since it meant that they got to spend more time alone with each other.

The idea came to him when he was at his place shortly after having met with his gang on a few things they needed to see to in the area to make sure that the people still realized who they were. He was very serious about what he had to say to them in regards to making sure that the citizens of the western town still knew what they were capable of doing if they were driven to that point. Once the meeting was over, his mind started to slip from what he had said to his men to the visual of Annalise from a few nights previous when she had been on his arm and how he had given her a brief kiss out in front of her aunt's inn. He could still taste her on his lips and the feeling made it impossible for him to stay away from her. Mark came up with the idea of a ride for the two of them since it would allow him to show her around the more wild parts of the area, and they would be away from the watchful and scornful eyes of her cousin who no doubt was fussing about her riding off alone with a man that probably had alternative motives for the trip for the two of them.

She wouldn't be far off with that since that is exactly what he was doing. Although he had left town with Annalise with the idea being to showing her the lands outside the town and getting to spend some time alone with her, he planned to use this as the perfect chance to see if there was indeed anything between the two of them that could lead to something more serious and lasting like he had been longing to find in the place he called home.

Guiding the horse around some twists on a path, Mark leaned his mouth down by one of her ears and spoke to her calmly in his deep voice.

"So," He asked, "how are you enjoying the ride so far, Annalise?"

He kept his focus between watching where they were going as well as giving her some attention to let her know that she was still on his mind although he was having to guide the horse. His move was met by her giving him a response in her normal sweet tone that she had been giving him during their times talking with one another.

"I am really enjoying it, Mark." She replied. "I like being able to be away from the town and get to see everything that is around here."

"It is good to get away once in a great while."

"That is true. It is not good to stay in one spot for so long that you can't enjoy the beautiful surroundings that you live in."

"I don't really think that these surroundings are that beautiful."

"You don't? Do you know of something that is more beautiful?"

"I do."

"What is it?"

Reaching the top of a hill, Mark brought his horse to a stop and turned his gaze down to hers. His eyes locked on a look of wonder and curiosity coming from her gentle stare at him having stopped them, as well as from wondering what it was that was more beautiful than the area they were in. The moment that he had chosen to make this move, he found himself plagued with a need for another taste of what was nestled within her mouth. The other night caused him to be tore up with unbridled lust after just one kiss, and it was killing him to have her right there and not be able to savor another one with her.

Ignoring his rational side wishing him to hold back, Mark leaned in towards her face slowly as he whispered out a single word to her as his lips started to close in on hers for another kiss.

"You."


	18. Chapter 18

Note: The only character in this story that I do not own is The Undertaker.

Chapter Eighteen

The instance that Mark's lips made contact with her own caused a bolt of liquid lightning to go coursing through her body. The sensation nearly took her breath away. It was a feeling unlike anything else she had ever experienced before in her entire life, and it was also one that she didn't want to ever end.

The way that his man who was feared by so many people in Black Oak falls was able to show her that he had a soft side beneath his hard exterior and had the capability to take her breath away with just a simple kiss that led her wanting more was proof enough for her that he unlike anyone else that he had been around before. He awakened a mixture of emotions within her that she didn't know even existed anymore. and found them refusing to go back to sleep even if she wanted them to.

As his lips moved along with hers, her lips registered how tender yet sensual the kiss was being to her. The combination of everything going on at the moment led her to start to give into the moment that was taking place on the back of his horse. She started to return his kiss in a similar manner as to how he was kissing her like he was. While her mouth started to welcome more of his kisses, one of her hands left where it had been resting and reached up towards the direction of his long, flowing hair. Its fingertips worked there way among the thick strands that was hanging down his shoulders, and allowed themselves to get lost in them.

This was her moment to experience what unbridled passion truly was all about. There was no one around to spy on her being intimate with a man that she was interested in. Her cousin would not be able to try and prevent her from what she was doing at the present moment. The only people in the area they were in was Mark Callaway and herself. It seemed like the perfect and ideal time for just the two of them to get lost in each other.

However, mother nature had other plans in store.

Locked in a sensual kiss with the only man that she was attracted to in the city, a clap of thunder snapped herself out of the kiss with him from the fear she possessed of storms. She worked to catch her breath while her eyes directed themselves overhead. Her feelings of fear were realized when the sight of dark clouds starting to become more visible over them alerted her that she was about to experience a storm out in the open if she didn't get to safety with Mark soon enough.

 _If it isn't my cousin not wanting me to be with Mark or someone else from the town's saloon, it is the natural elements of this wilderness that I have to now watch out for._

Annalise didn't like the fact that her moment with him was abruptly ended, but she knew that she needed to get to somewhere safe with him before they ended up getting drenched from the rain and becoming sick from the coldness of the water. She turned her eyes to the area they were in while her voice spoke softly.

"We best find shelter somewhere from the storm, Mark." She said, softly. "I don't think we are going to make it back to Black Oak Falls before the storm hits."

"I have to agree with you on that note, darling." Mark said, calmly. "We will both be wet from head to foot if we even try to make it back to town."

"Do you know of anywhere that we could whether out the storm until then?"

"There is an old cabin nearby that we can stay in. It is a place that I used to reside in until I managed to move to town and it has stood abandoned since then with some furniture still nestled inside of it. We will be safe there until the storm passes."

"That sounds like a good idea to me, Mark. Let's try to make it there before this rain hits us."

No sooner had she given her permission for them to head out to the place that he had mentioned, Annalise found him rushing them off down the trail at the top of the gap of the ridge where they had shared a brief intimate moment with each other. Her eyes scanned over the area as they were moving quickly for the cabin that he was talking about to watch out for it. She happened to catch sight of something in the distance that resembled an old homestead, and knew that had to be the place that Mark spoke about to her. With her body relaxing there against his, she started to wonder about something else in her mind.

 _If the storm persists for longer than what I am planning it to be, will I be sharing a home with Mark for the night? If I do and I return to town, the people there will more than likely start rumors about the two of us being away with one another. Will I be able to keep my reputation intact when we return or will I have to leave my new home because of it?_


	19. Chapter 19

Note: The only character I do not own in this story is The Undertaker.

Chapter Nineteen

As he moved in closer to where his old home stood in the distance, Mark kept an eye on the approaching storm that was moving in on the area they were in. He didn't want to get caught in it and the two of them get dripping wet from it. The last thing on his mind was to get both Annalise and himself sick from being out in a thunderstorm. However, there was something that had moved itself to the forefront of his mind that he couldn't ignore.

The two of them were fixing to be alone in close quarters during a storm that he wasn't sure about how long it would last. With as passionate as things had been escalating between them both, it was pretty obvious in his opinion that something would be bound to happen during their time inside of his log cabin homestead if the storm lasted longer than he wanted it to.

To be quite honest with himself, he sort of hoped for just that to happen. Being able to be alone with her at the gap of the ridge on the back of the horse with no one around, especially her cousin, and share a kiss with her that was passionate as his feelings for her were was enough to set a fire deep within him. Being able to spend some much needed time alone with her during a storm that could have things become more serious and intimate between them before dawn came back over the horizon had his hormones that were already raging to go into a full frenzy, fueling his already burning and unbridled desire for her.

As he got closer to the cabin, he couldn't help but notice Annalise's body language starting to change a little bit. He had an idea that she might be nervous at the prospect of the two of them being alone inside a cabin for a prolong period of time, and what could come of their time alone. Mark understood from their first and only dance so far at the saloon that she came from a pretty restricted family and community on the other side of the states, and more than likely it was an area where it was ruled by religious fundamentals who wanted things to be just as it is in the Bible regardless of someone else's feelings about the subject. If something did happen between the two of them inside the building, there was a chance that she would feel like she was lesser of a person or someone would start rumors about her back in town when they got back if they indeed had to spend the night inside the one room house.

 _If Jasmine or anyone back in Black Oak Falls has anything to say about her being with me inside of my cabin home during the storm that is fixing to hit, I will make them regret their decision very quickly._

Mark's fiery protective side over Annalise returned with a vengeance deep inside of his being. He wouldn't allow anyone to talk badly about her when they did get back from having to take shelter inside of his log cabin home. If anyone even tried to do just that, there would be no mercy for the individual that would choose to do just that. He didn't take the idea of anyone starting shit about the woman that had captured him. Although he didn't say it aloud, he made a promise to himself that anyone that chose to be stupid enough to go after Annalise would have to deal with him in the process and find out why he is the most feared man in all of Black Oak Falls.

Arriving to the front of the cabin just as the rain started to come pouring down, Mark didn't hesitate to jump down from the back of the horse and showed his arms to Annalise, motioning her to let him assist her down from the back of the horse. He waited until she leaned down enough for him to slide her off of the horse into his awaiting arms in a bridal position. Turning away from the stallion that was right there in front of him, his tall body made its way to the closed front door to the cabin and gave a swift kick to the door with the bottom of one of his boots hitting it with enough force to cause it to swing wide open. Mark crossed over the threshold with her in his arms before he eased her down on her feet and spoke to her in a tone that had a slight chuckle to it.

"Well, Miss Annalise, welcome to my little homestead." He said. "It is not much, but we should be safe from the storm for the time being in here."


	20. Chapter 20

Note: The only character in this story that I do not own is The Undertaker

Chapter Twenty

 _This place looks fine to me._

Annalise held her hands at her sides as she took into account the one room log cabin that Mark had brought the two of them to, finding it to be quite modest yet spacious at the same time. There was enough room for someone to cook a meal, sit in a chair by a fire in the fire place, and relaxing on the bed presented in the room without people feeling too crowded within the structure. To her, it seemed to be just the right size.

Her gaze looked over to where he was nestled to find him easing the door shut and trying to shake what loose water droplets there was on him off of his frame. She smiled at the gesture he was making with his arms some before she could manage to speak up to him with a calm tone that had a few giggles in it.

"I think the cabin is just fine, Mark." She said, replying back to his statement about the house not really being much for the two of them. "It is not too small and it is not too big either. It is just the right size for someone who lived out here on their own-"

"Or for a young couple that happened to be starting out."

His choice of words added with his piercing stare looking at her in a mischievous way caused her fair skin of her cheeks to flush some out of not being prepared for what he planned to say to her in response of her choice of words. Annalise struggled for a moment to work through her nervousness when the sudden clap of thunder snapped her focus away from how she was babbling like a little girl to the unsettling idea that they were somewhere outside of town during a storm that they had no idea of how long it was going to be staying around.

She moved herself over to one of the windows in the cabin, and eased some of the curtains back to see what it looked like outside. Her eyes widened a bit from seeing thick, pitch black clouds rolling in with rain pouring down over the landscape. The visual of a streak of lightning shooting down from the sky and hitting a tree near the window while a thunderous clap of thunder came at the same time had her releasing a soft sound that resembled that of an animal in fear. The sight had her spinning around from being startled by what she had seen, and finding herself within Mark's embrace.

Shifting her eyes to the handsome face of the man only known to many as The Undertaker, she found him looking down to her with unconditional love and caring for her during her moment of fear at having seen how bad the storm was going to end up being for the two of them to get through it. Her eyes locked with his, wishing to get lost in them as to chase away what the storm had brought up in her. The warmth of his strong arms moving around her and drawing her in to him brought a side of her head to lean against his chest. Annalise closed her eyes and allowed herself to soak in the moment presented to the two of them inside of his former home.

Her hands moved to hold onto his upper back gently while she registered his voice speaking to her in a calm and gentle manner, soothing her worries away while lightly touching at the arousal that still burned within her for him.

"Don't be afraid, darling." Mark whispered to her, stroking his hands up and down her back at the same time with his palms touching her in a loving way. "You don't have anything to be afraid of here with me. This house has stood through several storms in the past, and it will stand up through this one."

"I know I shouldn't be afraid of it, Mark." She replied. Easing her head up, Annalise had her eyes making contact with his once more as she proceeded to elaborate more on her reason for her reaction. "But...But I have always been afraid of storms."

"Always?"

"Always."

"What would your parents do when a storm would come into your town?"

"They...They would leave me alone in my room." Memories of her childhood had her looking down towards her feet as she begun recalling all the times that she would cry for her mother to come to her room at night when she was scared only to be met by her father not allowing her to check on her. "I would ask for my mother to come to my room because I was scared, but...but-"

"But what, Annalise?"

His voice changing to one that dripped with concern for her had her to look up to him. She forced a lump down her throat while her line of eye contact remained fixated on his own. As she managed to free her vocal chords up, her response came out in a soft whisper, delivering her answer to him.

"My father wouldn't let her come to my room. He would tell her that I just needed...needed to pray in order to feel safe." Her past came flooding over her, causing her eyes to water up without her knowledge at first, as she spoke to him from her heart. "I needed someone to let me know that I would be okay, but one of the people that I thought to love me unconditionally wouldn't even come when I needed them the most, Mark."

Annalise discovered his strong arms drawing her in much more than they had before, keeping her against him. Feeling his chest rising and falling underneath a side of her head, she allowed her hands to hold onto him much more. She needed to be there as close to him as she could be. He was offering her his embrace to comfort her and let her know that someone was there that would keep her safe and have her feel loved. Tears started to trail down her soft cheeks from the overwhelming sensations coursing through her as she picked up on his voice possessing a bit of a shaky sound to it on its way of his mouth.


	21. Chapter 21

Note: The only character I do not own in this story is The Undertaker

Chapter Twenty-One

"You have someone right here that is going to take care of you and protect you from the things that scare you from now on."

Mark spoke with determination in his voice towards her as his strong arms kept her against him. He wished to take away all the troubles that plagued her currently and those from her past with her religious parents wishing for her to just 'pray away her fears'. The thought of this beautiful angel that stood before him going through things that both troubled her and had her on edge ate away at him.

She didn't need to ever feel that she was all alone again. She would always have him to depend on and be there for her. Others might have left her alone or had her feeling like there was no one else that was going to be able to have her feel like she was good enough for them. However, she was more than good enough in his eyes. She was much more of an angel than those that children would draw pictures of.

"Everything and everybody that has scared you or made you feel lonely will shake in fear with me around you."

His eyes looked down to her face to see her slowly moving her face to look at him with tears streaming down her cheeks. The sight nearly had his heart break in half. It pained him to see someone so beautiful shedding tears over their unfavorable past they had before coming into his presence. With his focus on her, his ears listened to her voice slipping out of her mouth in a shaky tone of voice.

"Do...Do you promise me that, Mark?" Annalise asked, whispering out the words to her. She spoke with a need for validation from him regarding what he said to her. "Do you swear that you will take care of me and that you will shield me from everything and everyone that scares me and the feeling of being lonely?"

She needed him to confirm to her that everything he had said to her was the honest truth, and that he was going to see through to the end what he stated to her. This lovely lady had been through so much that it seemed that trust was a concept that she was not used to being able to witness from someone in a long time. He planned to help her see that with him that she didn't have to worry about him not being compeltely honest with her about something.

With a loving smile moving across his face, Mark lifted his hands up from his sides to rest on her face. His thumbs brushed away her tears that were coming down her fair skin, getting rid of them before they could stain her beautiful cheeks anymore. As he eased them away from her, he spoke to her in a soft whisper that only her ears could ear but was loud enough over the thunderous rain pouring on the rooftop overhead.

"I promise and swear to you right now, Annalise, that I will be the only person you will need in your life to take care of you, to protect you from anything and anyone that would cause you harm...and to love you like no other man has before."

One of his hands slipped away from one of her cheeks while the other remained firmly in place. He gazed upon her face to see her eyes not only fixated on his own but that she was not wishing to move from his body. It seemed that his decision to have her so close to himself had caused her to wish to remain where he had brought her to. However, it was causing him to struggle with a need to be even closer to her, as well as a wish to savor her lips once more. He couldn't win the battle going on inside of him, but he wanted to do his best to do just that.

Working hard to try and take things a different route with her, Mark swallowed a lump down his throat and managed words out of his mouth with his voice taking on a shaky tone that had a sensual need dripping from it.

"Darling, the other night, I didn't ask permission for a kiss when I should have. Now, I am asking for this. May I have your permission to kiss you?"

His move was met with genuine surprise on the face of Annalise. He could tell that she had not been expecting him to ask if it would be okay with her for him to kiss her, but that he would just have taken another one from her without so much as giving her the option to tell him now. Mark started to see a little shimmer in her eyes, as well as a sincere smile dancing across her face, prior to catching her sweet voice finding its way out in a whisper to him, giving him the answer to his question.


	22. Chapter 22

Note: The only character I do not own in this story is The Undertaker.

Chapter Twenty-Two

"You have permission to kiss me, Mark."

Her voice escaped from her mouth in a whisper that dripped with a need that matched his own for a kiss. She couldn't deny her own feelings of him, as well as from the sharing another intimate moment with him. From the first time that he had kissed her like he had in front of her aunt's hotel in the heart of Black Oak Falls, there was a secret yearning inside of her to be able to experience another one. She craved him unlike anything else in her entire life, and there was no point in trying to fight it anymore.

With herself so close to him in his embrace, Annalise watched his handsome features of his face getting closer to her own until she registered the pleasurable sensation of his mouth crashing down against hers, sealing her into a sensual kiss with him. A soft sound of her own enjoyment from what he was doing to her at that moment slipped out of her mouth in a soft yet brief noise. It pleased her to all the ends of the earth to have him being so close to her and being able to savor the taste of his lips despite what many of the religious people of the town would think of her if they knew of her feelings at that moment.

It wasn't seemed to be 'proper' for a young, unmarried woman to feel such passionate things for a man that she wasn't married to. She was supposed to suppress herself from such emotions until the day she married a young man who would satisfy her desires and who she could give those unspoken emotions to in order to keep her from being seen as too loose.

But...That was not going to happen with Annalise. She had become tired of the rigid and restrictive life she had been brought up to believe was the only way to live her life. She made a decision to pursue what she wanted deep within her heart and not what society wished her to pursue.

As her lips moved along Mark's mouth, she started to register his beginning to add a little more pressure to hers and kiss her more fuller on her lips. The change of pace led her to moving her hands from where they had been to sliding towards his shoulders and crossing her wrists over one another behind the back of his head, drawing herself in even more to him without wasting a single second to even consider what she was doing to him. Her decision was met by the feeling of Mark's strong hands starting to move down her body, trailing his fingers along the curves of her sides in the direction of where her legs were.

 _Stop this right now, Annalise!_

Her conscience begun screaming at her in order to try and get her to back out of what she was doing currently with him. It didn't approve of the fact that she was acting in a way that her parents had always told her was not the way that a lady should behave in, and wanted to try and get her to come back to the way of thinking she had always relied on.

 _What you are doing is wrong and it is going to cause you to tarnish your reputation in town. Do you want to have to pack up and move because of having a little bit of fun with the one man in the whole town that everyone is intimidated and scared of?!_

Instead of issuing a response to her conscience, Annalise chose to simply ignore its ramblings to her. She was enjoying herself for once in her life, and she wasn't going to let it have her stop something that she found true and sincere pleasure from. Mark offered her what she had been searching for, and there was no way in hell that she was going to go back to how she used to live.

Allowing herself to slip further into the moment with him, a soft sound of surprise left her mouth from the sensation of herself being picked up by the backs of her legs and them being moved to wrap around his waist for support. She didn't dare separate their kiss for fear of the moment they were sharing to be ended abruptly. This was her time to finally do what she longed for, and there was no way that she was going to let it end if she could keep that from happening. Her lips continued to move along with us while she registered him to be walking her over in a direction of the cabin where a bed was nestled nearby that was big enough for the two of them.


	23. Chapter 23

Note: The only character in this story that I do not own is The Undertaker

Chapter Twenty-Three

 _There is no turning back now. She wants me just as bad as I want her, and I am not about to try and restrict myself from something that we both want to have happen._

The passionate side of Mark's being had taken over his entire body and mind the instance that he registered Annalise showing no sign of pulling away from him in their kiss with one another, especially when he had made the daring move to lift her up by her legs so they could wrap around his waist a little better as to help with him not leaning down from his tall height in order to kiss with her. There was no way he was backing out now.

With him locked in a kiss that was growing more passionate by the second with her, Mark arrived to the destination that he was going to take her to and that was his old bed that he used to sleep in when he lived there on a regular basis. He still came out to the cabin to check on things from time to time, but he mainly stayed within the city limits of Black Oak Falls. It had been awhile since he had come out to make sure the property was still in good condition as was the house, but he was now glad that he had done just that since he had a reason to stay there a little longer if the storm outside continued to persist like it was.

His strong arms eased Annalise to lie on her back in the middle of his bed as his lips left hers for a moment. Gazing down into her eyes, he found her to be pleading to him silently to continue with what they were doing and not to stop. His body wanted to keep going, but he didn't want to rush into it with her. He didn't want to keep going unless she was really prepared for what it meant if they continued at the rate they were moving at. Drawing in a breath of air, Mark managed to speak up with a raspy sound to his deep voice despite all the emotions going on inside of him.

"Darling," he said, "I would love nothing more than to keep going with you like we are. However, if we do continue, at this rate, more than likely we might get a little...tangled up with one another. Are you prepared for what will more than likely happen if we do get to that point?"

He could have been a little more vulgar with his choice of words towards her when he referred to getting 'tangled up' instead of just being straight out about it and saying 'sex' or that they wound end up screwing each other. However, he chose to go a different route with his choice of words with her. Annalise wasn't like the girls that worked at the saloon who were used to having men talk to them in a way that would make the most religious woman in the area pass out from shock. She deserved to be talked to a little more better and not in such a degrading and humiliating way.

Holding his line of eye contact with her, Mark was pleased to find her showing him one of her sweet smiles she had shown him before in town when they first met with a look of sexual need growing in her eyes for him. He kept the line of eye contact with her while his ears picked up the sound of her giving him the answer he was waiting for.

"I had a feeling the moment that we left the city limits on the back of your horse that we might end up getting 'tangled' with one another. I tried to tell myself that it wasn't a possibility that this would happen to me...but it is. Although I am not like the other women you have probably had back at the saloon, if you are willing to give me a chance, I would love to see where this goes for the two of us."

His heart swelled up with both joy and unbridled lust at hearing Annalise giving him permission for the two of them to keep going at the rate they were moving at. He had been wanting to be like this with her since their kiss outside of her aunt's hotel, and, with the opportunity presented before him, there was no way that he was going to turn her away. With a sensual smile growing on his face, Mark eased himself onto the bottom of the bed at the foot of it, and used his hands to remove her shoes first prior to working his hands up her legs, running his fingers along them. His eyes delighted in seeing hers closing out of pleasure at his touch, causing his voice to become dripping wet with unadulterated passion for her.

"You best get ready for the ride of your life, Annalise, because this is going to be one that you will not forget."


	24. Chapter 24

Note: The only character I do not own in this story is The Undertaker

Chapter Twenty-Four

No sooner had she registered Mark's strong hands gliding up her legs of her gown that a soft sight of pleasure escaped from the confines of her lips. She leaned her head back more into the pillows present on the bed behind her head, and closed her eyes. The pleasurable feelings of his fingers dancing across the soft, fair complexion of her body had her trembling all over with excitement at what was to happen at that moment between the two of them.

 _This is it. This is the moment that I have been waiting to experience. I am about to become intimate with a man that I want with all of my heart and soul, and our bodies turn into one._

Annalise knew that this day would come where she would share a bed with the man that she was to spend the rest of her life with, and give herself to that man completely and without any hesitation. That day had come in that instance and the person that was to be the one for her to spend her life with was none other than the very man that the whole town of Black Oak Falls feared.

She didn't care that they had an issue with him, and what he had done in his past was not something she really needed to know. In her opinion, what Mark had done before he met her was in the past and didn't affect her in the slightest. Her heart, as well as her body, knew who it was that it wanted her to be with in that moment and more to come in the future, and that person was Mark Callaway. Although she knew what she was doing, it didn't stop her rational part of her brain from screaming at her out of anger and disgust.

 _I can't believe that you are going to just lie here, and let this man ravage your body!_ It shouted at her with hatred coming to the surface of it's tone to her. _Does your virginity mean so little to you that you are going to give it away to someone who probably has many women in the way that he is going to have you? What about your reputation? Do you have any idea of what is going to happen when word starts to spread throughout the city about-_

 _I am getting tired with you wishing to only try and ruin a moment that I want to experience with someone that I want to be with._ Annalise spoke with a firm voice back to her conscience, making her point very clear. _I am quite aware as to what is going to happen when I go back to Black Oak Falls with Mark, as well as to what more than likely is going to be said to me by my cousin, but it is not going to scare me away from being with a man that I know in my heart is the right one to be with._

 _I can't believe that you would toss everything away for a little fun in the sheets with this monster._

 _He is not a monster, and I am done having this discussion with you!_

Before the rational side of her brain could kick in and say anything else to her, Annalise managed to shut off her connection to it in order for her to enjoy what was going on with Mark and her. She wanted this, and there is was nothing that was going to stop or prevent her from getting to share something with him that she had never shared with another man before. He had been the first man to dance with her, and the first one to share a kiss with her. It only seemed right in her eyes that she gave him, the man that she had become fond of, something that could not be returned even if she wanted it to be at some point.

No sooner had she successfully cut off the link to the part of her brain that was causing her some issues, she registered his hands to be guiding her legs open a little more to where they were spread apart from one another. Her eyes looked up to him to find him looking down at her from where he was towering over her. She listened to the sound of her heart pounding heavily in her ears from the anticipation getting faster with her. Annalise drew in a breath of air prior to pushing it down her throat while she watched his lips starting to part, and begun to listen to him speaking to her in that western accent that now made her crave for him more than she had planned on ever craving for a man in her life.


	25. Chapter 25

Note: The only character I do not own in this story is The Undertaker.

Chapter Twenty-Five

"Don't worry, darling," Mark said, "I will take very good care of you. Just relax...and let me do all the work."

He knew going into this with her that she was not experienced like some of the women that had shared his company at the saloon, and, more than likely, she was not sure as to what she needed to do in order to satisfy his need. He didn't see a problem with him being the one to do all the work since it would help her to relax with what was going on at the moment, and that she would be more relaxed the next time they got to be in bed with each other.

 _If there will be a next time..._

The sound of his conscience making a snide remark to him caused him to twinge a bit inside despite him managing to hide it. His eyes remained focused on Annalise while he started to combat with the voice that was trying to disrupt the mood between her and him.

 _Is there something you want to talk about?_

 _Just that you are more than likely not going to be able to be with her again like this._

 _And how do you figure that this is just going to be a one time thing?_

 _One word: Jasmine. She is probably already spreading rumors around town about the two of you having decided to go off for a ride. Once she realizes that you deflowered her cousin, she will show you no mercy at all with the stories she is capable of making in order to ruin any and all chance of a future between Annalise and yourself._

 _If she wants to try to break the two of us up, she can do her damn best to do it...but it won't happen._

Mark's confidence caused his conscience to move back to the shadows, and no longer bother him during his time with his woman. He wasn't going to hide from anyone, including Jasmine, that didn't approve of him being around the beauty that lied underneath him, and he sure as hell wasn't going to have this be the one and only time that he is intimate with someone as lovely and beautiful as Annalise. She was perfect in every way, shape and form. There was no way that he was going to walk away from her now that he had found her.

Freed from being pestered, his strong hands slid her legs a little further apart before he was able to position himself between them a little better. The tips of his fingers glided up her thighs a little higher to where her bloomers resided on her body. One of his hands brushed against the front of her underwear by accident, but noticed something that he hadn't counted on: She was wet with arousal from what he had done so far.

The discovery surprised him in a tremendous way just for the simple fact that he hadn't even done much to her during their time alone in his old cabin home, but that it was enough to light something within her that had her hormones racing. Finding that he had turned her on, Mark noticed himself becoming that much more turned on as well. The knowledge of what he had already started in her caused himself to harden inside of his trousers that he had on.

Grasping onto the sides of her underwear, a dark, burning desire washed over his gaze towards her as his hands begun to pull her underwear down her legs as he shifted his position in order to have her freed of them. He tossed them to a spot at the end of the bed in the floor, and turned back to where she was lying. Mark stood at the foot of the bed, looking towards her, as his hands undid the front of his trousers and begun to release his throbbing member that was ready to burst from where it had been held up. Looking to her face and seeing the look of shock there, he couldn't help but smile a bit towards her as his deep voice dripped with pure, unadulerated lust on its way of his mouth.

"Are you ready, darling?"


	26. Chapter 26

Note: The only character I do not own in this fanfiction is The Undertaker

Chapter Twenty-Six

 _Oh...my...god. He is huge!_

Annalise couldn't help herself but be in complete shock at the size of Mark's cock being right out in the open for her to see. She didn't plan on showing in her reaction to what his member would look like, but that all changed when her eyes saw the size of it and her conscience made sure to snap in a few words to her out of fear of the size of his dick and the knowledge that he would be putting that in her.

 _Annalise, I know that you want to be with Mark, badly, but...I am not sure if this is such a good idea. He is pretty big in a certain area, and I am not sure if he is going to be able to fit inside of you all the way without splitting you in half._

She couldn't disagree with her conscience regarding its statement to her about its doubt that she would be able to house all of Mark's member in her tight body since she had never had a man inside of her before, and the mere size of the length of it alarmed her of it as well. An unsettling feeling of not being able to satisfy him started to course through her body as her gaze moved back to where he stood at the foot of the bed. Focusing on him, she struggled for a few moments for her voice before she managed out some words to him, softly.

"I...I am not sure if this is going to work, Mark." She replied, softly. "Y-You might be too big for my body to handle."

The words to him had her skin blushing from the arousal coursing through her entire body and embarrassment at coming out to say that she might not be able to take care of his cock that was ready and waiting for her. She was highly turned on, but her arousal was having to deal with an unsettling doubt that she couldn't do for him what she wanted to do.

Her eyes widened slightly at seeing a coy yet sensual smirk forming on his face a little more as his body started to move onto the bed. She swallowed a lump down her throat as she watched him slowly started to crawl towards her. Going to speak up to him, a soft gasp of pleasure escaped from her mouth instead when the feeling of his strong lips kissing up her legs started to chase away all the negative thoughts she had been having in her head.

 _This feels so good right now to me. Although he is a lot bigger than I thought he would be, I have faith that he will do his best to not hurt me during our first time with one another. I have faith in Mark._

Her head eased itself to lie down on the bed as her breaths started to become heavier and heavier as time went by. She bit on her bottom lip as his kisses rose up more and more up her legs. The fingernails on her hands dug more into the bed that was underneath the two of them as the unbridled lust that had been growing in her started to consume every fiber of her being. She needed him more than anything else she had ever needed before in her whole life.

Annalise opened up her eyes when she felt his lips leave her legs to find him looking down at her face. She shivered a little more from the sensation of his hands cupping the backs of her legs and easing them a little more open for his body to get between her legs. The entrance to her vagina trembled from the feeling of the head of his dick brushing against it a little more. Keeping her eyes on his, she listened to the soothing sound of his deep voice whispering to her in a calming way, working to help her not be scared at what was about to happen.


	27. Chapter 27

Note: The only character I do not own in this fanfiction is The Undertaker

Chapter Twenty-Seven

"Don't worry, darling." He whispered to her. "There will be a moment of pain since this will be your first time, but it will quickly be replaced with pleasure that you have never experienced before in your entire life."

Mark could tell that she was a little on edge with the idea of him sliding inside of her for the knowledge that she was a virgin still and that she believed he was too big to be inside of her body. He wanted her to be relaxed as much as she could or that she might experience more pain than she had to deal with. The only thing he wanted to do was to show her the kind of pleasure that she had always dreamed of to experience with the man she was to spend her whole life with.

His eyes watched her facial features starting to relax and herself giving a nod of her head. He was relieved at seeing her at least trying to relax before him. Leaning down towards her face, he placed a tender kiss upon her lips to help her relax a little more. His hands cupped her ass gently within his palms while he mentally prepared himself to thrust forward.

 _Well...Here goes nothing._

As the kiss had started to become a little passionate between the two of them, Mark thrusted his hips forward, and sent his cock inside of Annalise's body a little deeper than he initially thought to do with her, sending him completely inside of her and through her barrier that had been inside of her to keep a man from getting to her womb. The instance caused him to break the kiss with her to catch his breath due to her tight walls squeezing down around his member a lot more firmly than he had experienced with any of the other women that he had been with during his life.

"God damn, Annalise." He growled out as he struggled to find his voice and his breathing pattern once more. "You are so tight."

Mark took a few more lingering moments to steady his breathing pattern before he was able to look down at his woman to find some tears trying to come out of her eyes from him having taken her virginity as quickly as he had. The sight caused his heart to tense up as he didn't want to see her crying, but he knew that with him breaking her hymen that it was going to be painful for it being her first time.

Leaning down towards her face, he kissed at the tears that were lingering on the outside of her eyes before he looked into her gaze with his. He watched her blink her eyes free of the tears before she managed to focus on him. Mark had his face hovering over hers as he spoke to her in a low and highly sensual whisper.

"I am sorry, darling. I didn't mean for the pain to be this much for you and to thrust in like I did. I'll stay like this until you are ready for us to continue. I don't want to cause you anymore pain than I already have."

It pained him to know that he had hurt her like he had although there was nothing else that he could have done to prevented it since this was her first time, and there would be some pain and discomfort in it. He hoped to now help her through with the pain so that the pleasure could come to the surface and have her to feel something that she had never experienced before in her entire life.

Leaning towards her lips, Mark started to kiss her lips softly with his own, wishing to help her through with what she was dealing with at that moment. He started to register her beginning to return his kiss back to him before he pressed a little more on her lips. Although he wanted to start working on his rhythm, he made himself stay still until he had received a sign from Annalise that she was ready for him to continue and show her the passion that was burning deep inside him for her.


	28. Chapter 28

Note: The only character I do not own in this fanfiction is The Undertaker. Also, I am working to turn this into the first of a series of books that will be available on e-book format.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Annalise found herself experiencing a pain unlike anything else she had ever felt before in her entire life. Having Mark to take her virginity from her was probably on the most intense moment she had ever went through in her life so far to date. It took place of everything else that had happened to her that brought her some form of discomfort or another.

Lying on her back, she worked to recapture her breath back from it being taken away by what he had done to her. She swallowed a lump down her throat in order to try and free the passageway in her throat in order for her to be able let her take air inside once more. Annalise eased her eyes shut once her body allowed her to inhale air and let it out of her body as the walls of her vagina were working to relax themselves around Mark's shaft that was buried inside of her where it wouldn't be tensed up. As it had begun to relax, she took note of a pleasurable sensation starting to course through her body, causing her skin to have chill bumps dancing across her arms.

 _What is this feeling?_

She was a little caught off guard by the new feeling. It was something foreign to her frame. There wasn't a time that this type of enjoyable sensation had made itself known to her before. However, it wasn't something she wanted to be away from her. On the contrary, what her body was going through at that moment was something that she welcomed with her arms and hoped for it to continue and only grow if this was just the start of things to come between Mark and her during their time alone in his cabin home outside the limits of Black Oak Falls.

With the chills from the pleasure coursing through her body, her eyes fluttered opened at the feeling of the man she had come to fall for kissing away at what remnants were left of her tears. Annalise turned her full attention in the direction of where Mark's piercing stare was looking down at her from overhead to find his eyes possessing concern in them for his mistake of having went in too much on her at first. The sight told her that he was sorry for what he had done to her and knew that he had hurt her more than he wanted to for her first time having sex with him. A loving smile came to her face at seeing how sincere he was towards her with having done what he had done while her ears took in his sultry voice coming out of his mouth towards her.

"Are you fine with me to continue, darling?" Mark asked. His voice trembled on its way out of his mouth from the walls of her vagina started to relax from how tight they had been on him, and from having seen her with tears in her eyes a few moments ago. "I won't go on until you are comfortable."

Moved by what he was saying, she reached up to a side of his face with one of her hands and cupped his face in it as a whisper left her voice, softly.

"I am ready for us to continue, Mark."

She gave him the go-ahead to continue with what he had started. The pain had subsided within herself, and now only pleasure was remaining. Annalise was ready to accept all that Mark had to give to her.


	29. Chapter 29

Note: The only character I do not own in this fanfiction is The Undertaker.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Mark struggled to keep from going hard and fast immediately after Annalise having giving him permission to keep going, informing him that she was was ready for him. The walls of her vagina being clamped down on his member had caused him to fight a struggle that he never experienced before. He wanted to immediately go strong and fast with her, but, at the same time, he didn't want to hurt her with this being the first time they would have sex with each other.

Drawing in a breath of air, he leaned down and gave his girl a gentle kiss on her lips that lasted for a few moments before he managed to break the moment with her in order to get out his deep voice to her in a whisper that dripped with the unbridled lust that was brewing inside of his body for her.

"All right, darling." He said. "I would suggest you get ready to hold on tight. The ride is fixing to get a little more intense than it already has been for you."

No sooner had the words left his mouth when they did, Mark dug his fingers a little more into the bedding that the two of them were on top of, and he started to build up a slow and steady rhythm with her at her first. He found the pleasure that he got from her walls to be much more than he was prepared to experience, and it was something that caught by complete surprise.

Before having met her, he had been with a few of the women who worked and lived at the saloon in the city, and none of them had this type of effect on him. When he had sex with them, it was nowhere near as pleasurable or amazing at what he was feeling with Annalise. She gave him a rush unlike anything else, and it left him wanting more than he every dreamed of wanting from the other women that had come and gone in his life.

Slowly, he started to increase his speed a little more with her once he started to see her face showing pleasure coming across it to match his own. His body wanted to go faster than the speed he was moving at currently, but he chose to go at a pace that wouldn't hurt her more than he had earlier. Mark leaned his head back some as he kept thrusting in and out of her body, and let his voice come out in a pleasurable moan.

"God damn, Annalise." He whispered. "You feel so nice."

He moved his eyes down towards the direction of her face to see her eyes being closed while she was letting out soft moans towards him among her voice coming out at the same time.

"This...This is so amazing, Mark. I haven't ever felt like this before in my life."

Seeing her being pleasure with what he was doing to her, his hips started to go a little faster, driving his member harder and faster inside of her body. He watched her face start to show more intense feelings of what she was already feeling coming across it as her voice started to increase the sound of her moans. The combination of the two had him going harder and faster, driving his own lust that he was having inside of himself for her. He could feel his shaft tightening up and knew that it was just a matter of time before he would hit his climax with her. The feeling was getting closer to him and he made the decision to warn his lady of exactly what was about to happen.


	30. Chapter 30

Note: The only character that I do not own in this story is The Undertaker. I am planning to turn this into a series of books for E-Book format.

Chapter Thirty

"Annalise, I am about to cum. I can't hold myself anymore."

The instance that she had heard Mark inform her that he was fixing to hit his climax with her was at the same exact moment that her own body started to inform her that she was about to experience her very first orgasm as well. She didn't think it was possible for two people to reach their climax at the same exact time, but it seemed that they would be doing just that.

Drawing in a breath of air from where she was nestled underneath him, she struggled at first to get her voice out of her mouth before the words were able to come out of her lips.

"M-Mark, I am about to do the same exact thing myself. I don't think I can hold it for much longer."

Annalise wasn't exactly sure as to how the man she had come to fall for would take her news to him about her own climax reaching at the same intensity that his was doing at that moment. She took a few moments to look up at him to find a look of passion that matched her own to be within his piercing gaze. Lying there on her back, her ears picked up on a message coming from his strong lips that told her all that she need to know about his feelings.

"It is all right, darling." Mark growled with lust burning within his voice. "I want to feel you let go on me so I can feel your pleasure from what we have done here today. Let yourself go."

It seemed like her body took what he said as a command because no sooner had he finished saying the words to her that a sharp gasp of air left her mouth as an intense orgasm went ripping through her body without mercy. She tightly shut her eyes and leaned her back from the sensation overwhelming her.

"Oh my god!"

She couldn't help herself but to scream out the instance that she had cummed from what Mark had done to herself. It was too much for her to deal with all at once and there was no way that she could keep it to herself what he had done to her. Not too long after she let out a cry to the heavens, another gasp left her mouth at the feeling of a hot liquid shooting inside of her body and Mark's dick to be buried inside of her body. She picked up on the sound of a soft groan coming from Mark's mouth prior to her eyes looking up in his direction from where she was nestled to see him being in complete pleasure at having hit his climax around the time that she had hit hers. Among his groans and moans, Annalise picked up on his voice coming out in a soft growl.

"Oh god, Annalise. I have never experienced anything like this before with another woman before."

She watched his eyes turn in her direction from where he was nestled atop her frame to find his gaze looking at her with not unbridled lust that one who just wanted to satisfy their sexual desire would have, but having one of unadulterated love for her. Annalise tried to get words out of her mouth to say to him but it was hard for her to get anything out from the exhaustion of the moment taking hold of her. She registered him easing himself out of her only to find him moving to lie beside her on his back, and drawing her over so she could lay her head on his chest. Once her head made contact with his heaving chest, her ears listened to his soothing voice whispering to her.

"Rest now, darling. I'll be right here when you wake up."

Although she needed to rest up, she didn't want to go to sleep and him not be there when she woke up in the morning and this was all a dream. She yearned to stay awake so she makes sure that he doesn't disappear from her sights. Annalise fought with herself for awhile before she ulimately started to close her eyes. Thoughts of what was to happen when they returned to town from their time spent out there in the wilderness in his cabin were at the back of her mind. There would be a price she would have to pay with her family members for letting him take her virginity before marriage, but it was something that didn't seem that important to her. All that mattered to her was the man whose arms were wrapped around her body and holding her close to him. Resting her eyes shut, she started to drift off to sleep with the storm that had started outside turning into a calm rain and the one man she wanted out of everyone in the world sleeping right there at her side.


	31. Chapter 31

Note: The only character I do not own in this fanfiction is The Undertaker. Also, I have published the first installment of this series on Amazon in E-Book format. It is called Black Oak Falls and it is under my name, Emily Anderson. If anyone would like to check out the trailer, here is the link for it. watch?v=gdSxJ6IC4xE

Chapter Thirty One

As the rain started to become softer to the point where it couldn't be heard anymore, Mark glanced up towards a nearby window to see it was now nightfall and there was no way that he was going to be able for the two of them to get back to the city of Black Oak Falls without them getting wet from whatever rain was left from the storm that was in the region, and dealing with the wrath of cousin and aunt when he got her to the inn that the two operated and ran.

He found all kinds of thoughts coming to him in regards to what was to happen the moment he got them back to town the following day. There was no doubt that he wouldn't get anything from having taken her outside of city on a ride during the day and kept her with him overnight. However, it couldn't be said the same thing for Annalise.

More than likely, the people would scowl at her for having spent a night alone with a man that everyone in the town feared, and lost her virginity to him. Her reputation would be tarnished before they stepped foot into the area, and there was a risk that she might not even be taken back into her home at the inn by her cousin and aunt for what she had chosen to do with him.

 _If Jasmine has her mother to not let Annalise stay with them because of her decision to be with me, I am going to take care of her so she doesn't have to worry about the possibility of being on the street without a place to call home._

Mark had made the decision at that moment that he would be responsible for taking care of Annalise and keeping her safe from an undesireable life on the streets of Black Oak Falls. She was his woman, and it was job to make sure that she was taken care of to where she was content and happy to be with him. If anyone chose to try and lash out at her for her decision to be with him, he would take care of them in a way that would be quick and ruthless. She belonged to him and he would make anyone that hurt her regret the day they were born.

Shifting his focus down to where she was nestled with her head on his chest, he noticed his anger starting to drift away from him and be replaced with a sense of contentment. She looked like an angel with her head on a side of his chest with one of her hands nestled on the other side of his chest. The appearance of how she appeared as she slept there brought a smile to his face, and one of his hands to stroke through her strands of hair that was hanging down around her face, pushing them away so he could look at her even better. A faint, loving smile danced across his face as he whispered out a promise to her.

"From this day forward, I promise to love you more than any one has ever loved you before, to care for you to the best of my abilities of being able to do that, and to protect you from anyone and anything that might try to hurt you."

Mark leaned down towards her head a little bit, and placed a gentle kiss atop her hair that wouldn't stir her from her sleep. He eased his head back to watch her remaining curled up to his side and her head on his body before he started to close his own eyes. A deep breath left his mouth on his way to falling to sleep, feeling that he would be able to have a decent night sleep now that he had Annalise at his side.


End file.
